When signed up for Gmail you get a Google account and access to most of their services https://www.google.c...counts/ManageAccount will let you modify settings, see what you have joined etc. I think you will automatically join iGoogle, the personalized homepage - not sure. But if so next time you go to www.google.com you will see an iGoogle menu item at top. Other services you must log in to. One of the nice things about Google is this ease of use. Gmail account is key to all the goodies and probably why they it is generous with features. Selling Gmail is also selling Google but you can just ignore anything but Gmail if you wish.

More or less also goes for Yahoo, MS I guess but really tight integration at Google, no reason to feel trapped.

Yeah, I'm a Google account participant. I have the notebook and docs and spreadsheets so I added Gmail.It is an easier account to access.And as iphigenie said yahoo adds a blog and more.I'm sure google does too though.And Yahoo is 1gb not 250 mb.Either way, google or yahoo I doubt if I'd ever use that much space.

Ok set it to basic html and no ads, but no google talk interface either.Which is fine, I use Skype any way.Also if you open the email in a new window there are no ads with the 'standard with chat' mode on.

If gmail was just a webmail like the others, it would still be hands down the best one, due to the simplicity of its interface, google's no nonsense approach ect. But thats not reallthe attraction of gmail. Why you want (at least why I) want to use it is -

- automatic conversation threading- no folders, welcome to tags- unbeatable search- countless extensions and greasemonkey scripts to make it better- integration with other google services like maps

Just to interject - my Yahoo account (and I also have GMail and MSN accounts, too) now has limitless storage. I'm just waiting for someone to release something like GMail Drive that will let me take advantage of this (because there's no way I'll ever use 2.8 GB of storage just for e-mail let alone an infinite amount - he says in 2007... in 1994 I thought a 120MB notebook harddrive was HUGE and impossible to fill).

"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin

I also would like to see the attachment size limits increased,and be able to hyperlink them-use it as a temporary webspace.

speaking of size-lolI picked up an old apple that had a 64mb hard drive.That succer still works too.But it was made before the internet.No internet hookups for it.Not even a phone line.Although i heard of an attachment for it, I never pursued it.It was running os8 for mac.And could only have a 3.5 floppy drive.

I have a paid account (I like being able to access my mail from within Outlook and, when I initially purcahsed the upgrade, I got 1 GB versus 25 MB so it was worth it. I'm not so sure it's that worth is anymore...). Anyway, the limitless mailbox applies to both free and paid accounts, so fill your boots!

I like the Yahoo Mail Beta more than GMail - I use it more, anyway. The only thing I like better about GMail is the tagging vs. Yahoo where you still need to use a traditional folder system to organise your mail. Having said that, it's fully searchable, so you probably don't really even need to do that...

"Some people have a way with words, other people,... oh... have not way" - Steve Martin